StartMeeting is a solid service for Web presentations, but you'll have to look elsewhere if you want video chats.

Audio-only conference calls can get dull, fast. The way to improve them and keep participants engaged is with some visuals. While StartMeeting doesn't offer face-to-face video calls, it does offer a range of screen-sharing tools to enhance your company's meetings, at relatively low prices. However, its interface can be tough to navigate, and screen sharing comes with some quirks. For a better web conferencing experience, along with video-call capability, our Editors' Choice, ClickMeeting, offers both.

StartMeeting PackagesStartMeeting offers a 50-seat plan for $19.95 per month, with plans up to 1,000 seats for $349.95 monthly. There's also a free plan, the StartMeeting Free Pack, which includes audio conferencing for up to 1,000 callers, cloud-based presentations, and file sharing. An additional $4.95 per month gets you an international plan, which includes dial-in numbers for your international callers. A no-cost 30-day trial with screen sharing is available for the 50-seat plan, which can be bundled with the free plan.

Getting Started With StartMeetingI signed up for the StartMeeting Free Pack, which includes file-sharing and a Studio feature that lets you create presentations by recording your screen (with audio), which you can then share via email or social media. To get access to Web conferencing, I also signed up for the free trial, which includes live-screen sharing, though video chat by webcam is not available from StartMeeting. Competitors ClickMeeting and WebEx offer video calls.

Next, you choose your calling plan, either a toll-free dial-in plan ($24.90 per month plus 3.9 cents per minute per attendee), or a toll plan, in which everyone dials a local phone number and pays any applicable charges. You can also opt in to the international plan.

Your Welcome page includes the selected dial-in number and your meeting code and host PIN, as well as links to PDFs of StartMeeting's Quick Start guides, and downloads for the desktop app, Outlook plug-in, and Google plug-in.

StartMeeting's interface is simple enough, but it has a slightly dated look with harsh colors and large fonts. While it's not as corporate as that of InterCall, it's not as attractive as that of ClickMeeting. It's easy to start a meeting and get help, but some settings are hard to find. Your account includes a meeting wall that can be personalized with your company logo, contact information, and your picture, that is displayed at the end of your online meetings.

One oddity: When I forgot my login credentials, instead of resetting it and creating a new one, I received a recovery email that included my password. Not exactly secure.

Setting Up a MeetingWhen you're ready to set up a meeting, you click the Host button your dashboard, which brings you to your meeting wall. There you can edit your host information and optionally add a PIN to your meeting ID. There's a playback number available that you can dial into to listen to a recorded conference call, helpful if anyone misses the meeting. As a host, you'll have to download a meeting application that enables you to share your screen, chat with attendees, and make other participants presenters. You can also access your meeting wall from this module.

After you set up your meeting wall, click the Schedule Meeting button to view your calendar, add a subject, description, and set as a recurring meeting if you'd like. Then you can invite participants, select a scheduled meeting or set up an impromptu meeting, with the subject: "Please join me now." Once you add your invitees, you can either send the invite directly from StartMeeting or copy the invite to your clipboard and paste into an email. Unfortunately, StartMeeting doesn't include an address book, so you can't save contacts.

As a member, you can press the Join button on your meeting wall and input the meeting ID to enter a meeting you've been invited to. Otherwise, you simply click the link in your invite, which includes dial-in information, and then input your name and email address; the meeting ID will be pre-populated. If this is your first StartMeeting, you'll have to download a browser plug-in to join the conference.

The Meeting ExperienceEach meeting includes presenters and participants. Presenters can appoint other attendees as presenters. StartMeeting does not include videoconferencing; that is, you can't use webcams. But you can share your screen, as well as Word, Excel, Power Point, and PDF files, and URLs.

For audio, you can choose between dial-in conferences or use VoIP. When using VoIP, the presenter can mute the call, open drawing tools, record, and hide the main window. When you click Mic and Speaker, the app automatically performs a sound check and lists the number of attendees.

If you're using a dial-in number, you can set entry and exit chimes to sound when attendees join and leave the call, disconnect callers if the host is not present, and enable a caller-count feature.

Presenters can share their screen. There's a small delay before participants can see the shared screen, but it's not overly disruptive. However, if you share your screen, and the desktop app is showing, participants will see a large, black rectangle instead, which at first looks like there's a problem with screen sharing. You can expand and collapse the desktop app with one click, so make sure to collapse it during meetings.

You can also record the meeting audio and screen activity. Presenters can mute the entire group and put the meeting in Q&A mode, where everyone has audio privileges, or lecture mode, where only presenters have audio privileges. Chat windows are available with all meetings.

FeaturesAt the bottom of your meeting wall, you can access meeting history and recordings, Web controls (record, mute, attendee list and some audio controls) and broadcaster, where you can upload outside recordings to use in meetings. There are also separate wall preferences available from a drop-down menu on the top right, often left me confused as to where specific settings resided. Wall preferences include: background colors and background image. You can also set a master password, enable chat, and turn on the radio function, which allows up to 1,000 attendees to listen to the conference call without having to dial in.

In addition to password-protecting meetings, you can also add passwords for access to the meeting schedule and any files or URLs you choose to share. You can also use drawing tools, but you don't need a separate app. You can simply draw, type, highlight and erase right on your screen. StartMeeting does not have mobile apps, and VoIP calls are not available on mobile devices or Chromebooks.

Getting HelpIf you need help, StartMeeting has a short FAQ that outlines various features and how to use them. For more thorough guidance, StartMeeting offers a handful of user guides. You can also get support via email, a Web form, and by phone, which includes an international number. All support is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

StartMeeting: A Solid Conferencing SolutionStartMeeting offers generous conference-calling and screen-sharing features and is a fine solution if you don't require video calls. I especially like the Radio function, which is a good solution for company-wide conference calls in which only the host will be speaking. On the downside, settings can be a bit hard to find, and help documentation is sparse. If you want most of these features, as well as video chat, ClickMeeting, our Editor's Choice works well for small companies, and enables up to four simultaneous video feeds. If you don't need video chat though, StartMeeting is a cheaper option, and it has a free plan, which most other services, such as RingCentral and Adobe Connect, don't offer.

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About the Author

Molly K. McLaughlin is a New York-based writer and editor with more than a decade of experience covering technology. She has tested and reviewed all sorts of software, mobile apps, and gadgets. Before launching her freelance business, she was an editor at PC Magazine, covering consumer electronics, followed by a stint at ConsumerSearch.com, a revie... See Full Bio

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